Even knowing that wailing at an Eravalen aristocratic funeral was considered disrespectful to the deceased, I let my husband's adopted sister make a scene anyway.

In my previous life, my husband, Robert Baker, had a distant relative among the Eravalen aristocracy who passed away. A lawyer informed him that he stood to inherit the estate and invited him to attend the funeral.

His adopted sister, Mia Carter, insisted on tagging along to see how the privileged few in another country lived. She wanted to rub shoulders with nobles and make herself look important, even planning to wail dramatically in front of everyone.

I rushed to stop her. "Loud mourning is taboo among the Eravalen nobility. Forget inheriting anything. We'll all be thrown out!"

Yet she burst into tears, accusing me of looking down on her and thinking she was not good enough to mingle with aristocrats. She stormed out and was killed by street thugs in a random attack.

I thought Robert would fall apart, but he stayed silent through the entire funeral and collected his inheritance without a hitch.

Six months later, on our wedding anniversary, he took me to the snowy mountains for a photoshoot. The moment we reached the peak, he shoved me into a sleeping bag and tied it shut.

"If you hadn't blown everything out of proportion, Mia never would've run off and gotten herself shot."

He buried me alive in the snow. I froze to death, and he used that aristocratic fortune to become the CEO of a publicly traded company.

When I opened my eyes again, I was back on the day Mia insisted on wailing at the funeral.

"Celine, why won't you let me wail? The Duke had no children. What's wrong with shedding a few tears for him?"

In the car on the way to the funeral, I heard the familiar whining of my husband's adopted sister, Mia Baker, and it hit me. I had been reborn.

Mia's eyes were already rimmed with tears. She had not even started her mourning performance, yet she was already acting like I had bullied her.

My mother-in-law, Paige Rivers, pulled her into a protective embrace and shot me a dirty look.

"Everyone at this funeral will be somebody important! What's the harm in crying a little?

"What if some rich man notices how sweet and tender-hearted she is and sweeps her off her feet?"

With backup on her side, Mia stopped hiding her intentions. She turned to the mirror and touched up her eyeshadow.

"I've spent a whole month perfecting this look. When I cry today, I'll look absolutely heartbreaking!

"Celine's just jealous because I'm young and pretty. She's afraid I'll outshine her in front of the nobles!"

She was right about one thing. Mia had been preparing for this funeral for a while.

She had spent a fortune at a high-end spa for a full month of skincare treatments and even took acting lessons to perfect her crying.

I let out a cold laugh, mockery flickering in my eyes.

"You're going to a funeral, not a matchmaking event! Dressing up like that… Are you worried people won't notice you're fishing for a man?"

Mia bristled like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, whimpering through her tears.

"I researched the Duke's entire life! I hired someone to write a eulogy for me, and I've memorized every word!

"Wouldn't it be nice for the Duke to know that a guest from a faraway land remembers him? But no, you just have to look down on me!"

My husband, Robert Baker, sat nearby, his voice dripping with impatience.

"What's your problem, Celine? Isn't it enough that you cause drama back home? Do you have to embarrass us abroad too?

"Mia put so much effort into this funeral! She might actually make us look good for once! And you? What do you do besides nitpick?"

Robert had always been like this. He doted on his adopted sister and constantly assumed I was the one bullying her.

No matter how ridiculous Mia's behavior was, he never corrected her. Instead, he forced me to acknowledge her good intentions.

In my previous life, I had made a point of explaining that wailing at an Eravalen aristocratic funeral was deeply disrespectful.

My father-in-law, Elliot Baker, was waiting on money to save his life. Only after we secured the inheritance could the family finally breathe.

If we disturbed the peace of the deceased and made all the nobles uncomfortable, forget the inheritance, we would probably be thrown out of the funeral on the spot.

However, Mia refused to listen. She insisted on going through with her mourning act.

When I could not talk her out of it, I resorted to covering her mouth in front of everyone to keep her from wailing.

That only made Mia lose her mind with rage. She ran out crying and was killed by thugs in a random attack.

Robert collected the inheritance without any problems. Then he turned around and blamed me for Mia's death, pushing me off that snowy mountain without a shred of mercy.

This time around, I was going to sit back and watch Mia dig her own grave. She could cry however she wanted.

If Robert failed to get the inheritance today, there would be no money to treat his father's illness.

When the time came to plan a funeral for Elliot, then they would all have a real reason to wail.

After we entered the venue, perhaps because she noticed we were foreign guests, a waitress explained the funeral proceedings to us. She could not help but add a warning, "According to Eravalen aristocratic customs, wailing is not permitted during the service..."

The moment the waitress walked away, Mia raised an eyebrow.

"Hmph. She's just jealous because I'm prettier than her. She's afraid her employers will notice me!"

Paige nodded eagerly in agreement. "Women who serve the nobility are always scheming."

I could not stop myself from laughing out loud. Mia was far too confident.

Did she really think she was beautiful enough to make every woman in the world green with envy?

When she saw me laughing, something seemed to click in her mind.

"You were awfully chummy with that waitress. I bet you paid her off!

"You'd go this far just to stop me from mourning? How low can you stoop?"

Robert immediately jumped in and barked at me.

"Celine, behave yourself! Prince Charles from the Eravalen royal family will be attending this funeral! If you ruin my chances of inheriting this estate, I swear you'll regret it!"

At the mention of "prince," Mia's eyes lit up. Paige rushed to warn me as well.

"Celine, don't you dare cause trouble! If you ruin my chance of becoming a prince's mother-in-law, I'll make Robert divorce you!"

I almost laughed. Did they really think Mia was capable of that?

That one fleeting glance would be enough to hook Prince Charles Russo into marrying her and no one else?

They knew royalty would be present, yet they still planned to use mourning as an act of matchmaking. I could not wait to watch it all blow up in their faces.

As more guests gathered, Mia latched onto every eligible man she spotted, shaking hands left and right. She spoke in a clumsy foreign accent, radiating self-satisfied charm.

Suddenly, she clutched her chest and pretended to be short of breath, turning to me.

"Celine, go get my inhaler from the car. I'm worried I'll get too nervous and won't be able to breathe."

Ha. She was preparing for the wailing performance later. She really did need that inhaler.

Without thinking much of it, I headed to the car. The moment I pulled open the door and climbed inside, my hands and feet were grabbed and bound.

Then came a slam. The doors locked shut.

Mia stood outside the window, looking at me with contempt.

"You've tried to stop me over and over again. It's because you're scared I'll marry a noble and outrank you, isn't it?"

Paige shot me a cold glance as well.

"You're already married, you washed-up hag. Your chance is gone! With all these fine young men here today, our Mia can take her pick!"

I saw Robert standing outside, completely unmoved. I glared at him viciously.

"You're just going to let them lock me in here? It's boiling outside, and there's no air in this car. Are you trying to suffocate me to death?"

He frowned, his voice full of irritation.

"Stop playing the victim. I'm sick of watching you compete with Mia every single day! Just sit tight in the car until the funeral is over!"

With that, the man turned and walked away. Mia was still touching up her makeup in the rearview mirror.

Watching her slap powder onto her face, I could not help but sneer.

"Pile on a little more. Anyone who doesn't know better might think they're here for your funeral!"

She frowned for a second, then curled her lips into a smirk.

"You know, Celine, you should actually be hoping I land a rich husband. Otherwise, if I can't find a good man, I don't mind stealing my brother from you!"

From the moment Robert pushed me off that snowy mountain, I saw everything clearly. I finally understood the shameful feelings he harbored for Mia.

He had pinned the blame for her accidental death on me and plotted to have me killed without hesitation.

On the surface, he was my husband, but in his heart, there was only ever room for his adopted sister.

Once I figured that out, I stared at her and let a smirk pull at my lips.

"Steal him? I stopped wanting that piece of trash a long time ago. He's all yours!"

After the funeral began, Mia stood before the crowd and started reciting her eulogy.

At first, she only sniffled softly. Gradually, it turned into uncontrollable sobbing.

Everyone around her stared in bewilderment, but Mia was completely oblivious. She mistook the shock in their eyes for admiration, convinced that her grief had deeply moved them.

A gentleman noticed how heartbroken she seemed and offered her his handkerchief as she stepped down.

Mia's eyes lit up. She took it as him flirting with her. Her crying instantly grew louder, tears flowing like she had turned on the waterworks.

The woman at the gentleman's side let out a scoff and mockingly jabbed her, "You're from overseas, so I suppose you don't understand our customs? This is a solemn funeral. Who exactly are you putting on this crying show for?"

Mia was certain the woman was just jealous that a man had shown her attention. She lifted her chin defiantly.

"You clearly don't feel any grief over the Duke's death. That's why you think shedding a few tears isn't worth it!

"Someone as cold and heartless as you has no right to lecture me on manners!"

After putting the woman in her place, Mia noticed something.

Her crying really had attracted a man, and it had even made the noblewomen beside him sour with envy!

She was now certain her act was working. She immediately grabbed Paige and they wailed together, loud enough to wake the dead.

Every guest in attendance furrowed their brows. Wanting to avoid a scene, several of them urged the priest to step forward and intervene.

They figured if he explained the funeral customs, perhaps this foreign woman would listen to reason. However, the moment the priest raised his hand, intending to pat Mia's shoulder in comfort, she looked up.

Seeing it was just an old man, she flung his hand away and shoved him back.

The priest's expression darkened at her rudeness. He warned her sternly, "Stop crying! Our aristocratic funerals require quiet mourning! This kind of commotion is deeply disrespectful to the deceased!"

Mia convinced herself that this old man was just bitter because he had tried to take advantage of her and failed. Now he was picking a fight!

She turned on him immediately.

"God himself teaches us to show compassion, yet here you are clinging to your stuffy old rules!

"You won't even let people cry! Why would you suppress basic human nature like this?"

She hurled this twisted logic at him, and the priest stood frozen, unable to find a response. Then all eyes in the room turned toward her, and Mia swelled with pride.

She was certain her unique perspective and sharp tongue had dazzled the entire crowd.

As for those unfriendly looks? Just jealous women losing their minds, nothing more.

She immediately leaned over and whispered into Robert's ear.

"Robert, start crying! Don't you see how much everyone admires me? Don't you want to make connections with the nobles? This is the perfect chance to get noticed!"

Robert heard there was something to gain and immediately burst into loud, dramatic sobs, as if he were at his own parents' funeral.

At that moment, I had just been unexpectedly rescued by a nobleman and was standing on the second floor of the funeral hall. I had a clear view of the whole crying spectacle Mia had dragged the family into.

Those fools were wailing their heads off, completely oblivious to the expressions of the nobles watching from upstairs.

The real show was only just beginning.